Short-Term vs. Long-Term Leases: Which Is More Profitable? What It Takes to Beat a $4,800 Jupiter Lease

Owner Guide · Short-Term vs. Long-Term Leasing · Palm Beach County, FL

By Jean Taveras, Broker-Owner, Atlis Property Management · Updated October 2026

Owners in Palm Beach County hear two stories about short-term renting. One says a furnished home near the water can earn far more in a season than an annual tenant pays all year. The other says it is a second job with hotel-level costs. Both are true for some homes. The way to tell which fits yours is a break-even test.

This guide sets out that test using current asking rents from PBP Real Estate, explains the costs and rules that only apply to short stays, and lists the questions to answer before you furnish anything. It covers three structures: annual leases, furnished seasonal leases of a few months, and vacation rentals of less than 30 days. For the operating side of seasonal renting in North County, see our seasonal rental management guide for Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens.

Three Ways to Rent the Same Home

The phrase short-term rental covers very different businesses. Before comparing income, be clear about which structure you mean, because the law, taxes, and workload change with the length of the stay.

The middle row holds the most surprises, because a seasonal lease can carry tax filing duties that an annual lease does not.

The Break-Even Test: What a Furnished Lease Has to Beat

PBP Real Estate's analysis of BeachesMLS listings compares furnished and unfurnished asking rents for units of similar size. The table below applies each city's furnished premium for two-bedroom condominiums to the city's median two-bedroom asking rent, as of October 7, 2026, and then asks one question: how many months a year would the furnished rent need to be collected to match twelve months of the unfurnished rent? These are asking rents on listings, not signed leases, so treat the results as an illustration.

Read the last column carefully. In Jupiter, a furnished two-bedroom at the illustrative ask would need to be rented about 6.25 months of the year just to match the gross of an unfurnished annual lease, before any of the extra costs below. In Delray Beach, where the furnished premium is smaller, the same test needs more than nine months. A seasonal lease that covers only part of the year leaves the remaining months to fill, at whatever rent a shorter off-season lease will bring.

Furnished listings are a large share of some markets. As of October 7, 2026, PBP Real Estate reported that 68% of Jupiter listings and 49% of Palm Beach Gardens listings were furnished, compared with 17% in West Palm Beach. That means a furnished home in Jupiter is competing with many other furnished homes for the same renters.

Running the test for a vacation rental

For nightly rentals, use the same idea with your own numbers. Start with twelve months of the unfurnished rent your home would command. Add the extra annual costs listed in the next section. Divide by the nights you realistically expect to book, based on the calendars of comparable homes in your community, not on a platform's projection. The result is the average nightly revenue, after platform fees, the home needs just to tie the annual lease.

Costs That Only Show Up on the Short-Term Side

The costs below are what usually close the gap.

• Furnishing and replacement: furniture, linens, kitchenware, and electronics, plus replacing what wears out or goes missing.
• Utilities and services: electricity, water, internet, streaming, and lawn and pool care usually shift to the owner on furnished and nightly rentals.
• Cleaning and turnover: every stay ends with a clean, a linen change, and an inspection.
• Platform and payment fees: booking sites charge hosts, guests, or both.
• Taxes and licensing: registration, a county business tax receipt for vacation rentals, and monthly tax returns.
• Empty nights: gaps between bookings and slow months produce no income.
• Wear and insurance: more people moving through the home means more wear, and insurance for short stays may differ from a landlord policy.

A long-term lease carries its own costs, including turnover between tenants and the vacancy while the home is marketed. Use our vacancy loss calculator to put a number on that side, so you are comparing complete pictures.

Rules That Decide Before the Math Does

Homeowners associations and condominiums

For many Palm Beach County homes, the community documents settle the question. Under Florida Statute §720.306(1)(h), a homeowners association may amend its governing documents to prohibit or regulate rental agreements for a term of less than 6 months and may prohibit renting a parcel more than three times in a calendar year, and those amendments apply to all parcel owners. Other rental restrictions enacted after July 1, 2021 generally apply only to owners who take title afterward or who consent. Condominium declarations often set minimum lease terms and approval steps as well. Our guide to HOA rental restrictions explains what to verify before you list.

State and local rules

Under Florida Statute §509.013, a transient public lodging establishment includes a unit rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 consecutive days, or advertised as regularly rented for such periods. Section 509.242 classifies a condominium unit or a one- to four-family dwelling that meets that definition as a vacation rental. Public lodging is regulated by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Cities and the county have limited room here. Section 509.032(7) says a local law may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented, although that limit does not apply to local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011. Local governments may still have registration, safety, parking, noise, or similar requirements, and those differ from city to city. Check with your city or the county before you book the first guest.

Taxes on stays of 6 months or less

Florida Statute §212.03 taxes transient rentals and exempts a bona fide written agreement for continuous residence longer than 6 months. The Palm Beach County Tax Collector says its tourist development tax applies to transient rentals of 6 months or less, in addition to state sales tax, and is charged on rental revenue including mandatory fees such as cleaning. Hosts must register a tourist tax account, vacation rentals need a short-term rental business tax receipt, the account and receipt numbers must appear in online advertising, and online platforms do not remit the county tax for you. Returns are due monthly.

What a Long-Term Lease Gives You

An annual lease is the simpler business. One screened tenant pays one monthly rent, the tenant generally pays utilities, and the home sees one turnover a year at most. Florida's residential landlord-tenant act sets clear rules for deposits, notices, and termination; for example, a month-to-month tenancy ends with at least 30 days' written notice under §83.57(3). Section 83.42 states that the act does not apply to transient occupancy in public lodging, which is one reason nightly rentals run under a different set of rules.

Long-term leasing also compounds. A tenant who renews avoids a turnover, a vacancy, and a round of marketing. Our guides to lease renewal strategy and multi-year lease agreements cover how owners protect that advantage.

Matching the Strategy to the Property

1. Do the HOA or condo documents allow stays shorter than 6 months, and how many rentals a year?
2. Does the break-even test work for your home with your own rent estimate and realistic booked months or nights?
3. Are you prepared to register for and file transient rental taxes every month?
4. Who will handle guest communication, cleaning, restocking, and late-night problems?
5. Does your insurance cover the structure you choose?
6. If the furnished plan falls short, how quickly can the home convert to an annual lease?

If the answers point to an annual lease, that is not a consolation prize; once all costs are counted, it is often the more profitable choice. For timing an annual lease, see our seasonal rental trends guide.

Common Mistakes Owners Make When Comparing Short-Term and Long-Term Leases

• Comparing peak-season nightly rates with a monthly rent. Compare a full year of net income on each side.
• Furnishing before reading the HOA documents. A community that limits rentals under 6 months can end the plan before it starts.
• Forgetting transient rental taxes on seasonal leases. A furnished lease of 6 months or less is a transient rental for tax purposes.
• Treating asking rents as achieved rents. Listing medians describe what owners ask, not what tenants sign.
• Ignoring the off-season. A winter season that pays well still leaves the rest of the year to fill.
• Underestimating the workload. Nightly renting is a hospitality operation with daily duties.

How Atlis Approaches the Decision

Atlis is broker-owner led from our office on PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens and manages single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and small multifamily across Palm Beach County. Our results: a 21-day average lease-up, a 74% renewal rate, and 98%+ of rent collected monthly. Management is full service only at 5–9% of collected rent with a $200 monthly minimum, no management fees on vacant units, no markup on maintenance, and a fee rate locked for the life of the partnership. See our Jupiter property management page, our pricing, and our eight written guarantees.

Frequently Asked Questions

The most profitable lease is the one that wins the break-even test for your home, under your community's rules, after every cost. If you want a look at a seasonal-to-long-term conversion or a rental analysis of the long-term side, we are glad to help.